Tortured Dreams
by Brightfire15
Summary: After the events of 'Dalek' the Doctor passes out from the terrible effects of Van Statten's device. He endures tortured dreams and when he wakes up, he finds out how desperate Rose was to save him from possible death.


Tortured Dreams

Tortured Dreams

9thDoctor/Rose

_Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who_

After leaving Van Staten's museum, the Doctor and Rose were back in the TARDIS, safe and with a new companion. A boy named Adam. Rose had a liking for him, the Doctor didn't.

"This place is amazing," Adam said, as he gazed at the inside of the TARDIS.

"She's my TARDIS. Amazing is the only description for her," said the Doctor. He didn't think much of Adam and didn't believe he'd be of much use in their travels, but Rose had wanted Adam to come, so he'd allowed it—for Rose.

He walked around the TARDIS controls and put a hand on the railing as the control room went spinning. He wiped his sweaty forehead with his jacket sleeve. He felt terrible. Something was wrong with him, but he didn't want Rose to worry. He strove to conceal it as best he could.

"So, where're we off to now?" Rose asked.

"You pick," the Doctor offered. His head was pounding terribly as he spoke.

Rose picked a place and the Doctor started punching in the coordinates. She turned, smiling at first but her smile dropped when she saw the Doctor's very pale, sickly face. "Are you alright, Doctor?" she asked.

"Maybe I'm a little new with this "time-traveling with an alien thing," but, you don't look too good, Doctor," Adam said.

"I'm fine," he lied.

Rose bit her lip. She looked as if she wanted to argue but she didn't. She looked worried. She put an arm around him. "Are you _sure _you're alright?" she murmured.

The TARDIS started going. "I'm fine, Rose. D—"

"Doctor!" Rose yelled.

He collapsed and everything went black. He could feel arms picking him up as he went into tortured dreams.

_They were back with the Gelth in 1869. He had just told her how glad he was to have met her and as she was about to respond, the Gelth broke through and held the Doctor against the wall as they took over Rose's body. He yelled and tried to get free but his efforts were in vain. Rose was dead. _

_The scene changed and he was back in Downing Street trying to defeat the Slitheens. But it was different. When the block exploded, the Doctor had miraculously survived and Rose was dead, crushed to death underneath rubble. Grief and pain flooded him. He had promised to protect her and he'd failed. _

_Rose appeared before him, she was neither alive nor dead, but a zombie. She spoke to him in a cruel, cold voice. "You promised you'd protect me, Doctor," she said. "You swore to my mum I'd be safe. But you lied. I'm dead now and it's all your fault!" The Doctor tried to cry out and explain but she held him by throat and began to kill him. _

_The Doctor ran to protect Rose. The Dalek from Van Staten's museum was trying to kill her. He arrived too late and could only hear her scream as she died from the Dalek's laser. He picked up her dead form and cried. She couldn't be gone. She promised to stay with him. She was his Rose. "I love you, Rose," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry." _

The Doctor woke up. The fear slowly numbed away as he calmed down. His worse fear was losing Rose and he hoped it would never have to happen. He was sweating and breathing hard. He looked around. He was in the med bay of the TARDIS, there was an IV in his arm, his jumper was off and he felt cold. Adam was punching keys into a computer when he noticed the Doctor was awake.

"You're awake. Good. How do you feel?" Adam asked.

"Shaken," he answered. "What happened?"

"As soon the TARDIS started going, you passed out. Rose and I got you to med bay to find out what was wrong. After diagnosing your symptoms, I realized you had a bad case of radiation sickness from Van Staten's X-ray machine."

"I knew something was wrong with that bloody thing." The Doctor muttered. "Okay, so what happened then?"

"We did our best to treat you and just let me tell you, it was no easy job, especially with your physiology. You had this raging fever, you were sweating like nobody's business, you kept moaning and you've been out of it for four days. You were close to death."

The Doctor grimaced. Four days, four different nightmares of losing Rose.

"But we managed to work up an antidote and we slipped it into you with the IV. You should be fine now."

"Good. Thanks, Adam. Where's Rose?"

"She's over there." Adam pointed to a corner where Rose sat hunched over, sleeping. There were dark circles under eyes and she looked a bit thin.

His hearts sank. "What's wrong with her?" the Doctor asked.

"Lack of sleep and food."

"What?"

"Since you've been sick, she hasn't eaten or slept. She's worked harder than I did these past four days trying to get you an antidote. She's been worried sick about you. She wouldn't leave your side for _anything _except to use the restroom_. _I tried to get her to eat something and get some sleep, but she point-blank refused. You know, arguing with her is like mud wrestling with a pig. After giving you the antidote, I finally got her to rest by slipping some sleeping pills into her tea. She has been asleep for about ten minutes. Honestly, I have never seen a more devoted or stubborn person."

The Doctor couldn't help but smile and chuckle. It touched him to know how much Rose had worried for him. But he couldn't help but wish Rose had taken a little rest. After taking out the IV, he slipped his shirt on and walked over to her to carry her to her bedroom. She seemed so frail in her condition. "Oh, Rose," he murmured.

At the sound of her name, Rose woke up instantly. She jumped up and hugged him tightly as she cried. He hugged her back and stroked her hair.

"It's okay, Rose, it's okay," he told her.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried to death!" she sobbed.

"I know, but it's alright. I'm here now. I'm okay, but you look terrible. Why didn't you rest?"

She wiped away her tears before answering. "I just couldn't leave you. I had to be here with you in case you—"

He shushed her. He knew what she was going to say. He just picked her up and gently carried her away to her room. "Come on, I think it's time someone looked after you for a while."

She didn't protest and just wrapped her arms around him as he carried her. After he got her in bed, he was about to leave when she grabbed his hand. "Doctor," she said.

"Yes, Rose?"

"In case I never get the chance to say it again…I love you."

He hadn't expected that. True, he did love her. But if he lost her, the pain would be more than he could bear. Then he thought back to what Adam had said about Rose's determination to getting him better again. She'd ignored her own needs to get him better again. Without her, he might not be alive right now.

He caressed her cheek. "I love you too."

They shared a kiss together.

"Get some rest now," he told her.

She nodded and quickly fell asleep. In the morning, everything would be alright again. They'd go on one of their adventures, and the Doctor and Rose would be together—as lovers and they would be together, no matter what.

Author's note: _I know there are plenty of Rose + Doctor Fics, but, honestly I've just got a soft spot for them. So, read and review! _

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